Sinkhole Swallows LA Street After Woman Rams SUV Into Fire Hydrant

A major part of Downey Street, Los Angeles, was submerged by a massive sinkhole Saturday night after an SUV crashed into a fire hydrant and a power pole.

Officials said the steady stream of water from the fire hydrant caused the sinkhole, and added fire fighters eventually turned off the supply, CBS Local reported.

“Edison crew is still out here tonight working to repair a gigantic sinkhole on Rives Avenue after a woman crashed her SUV into a power pole and fire hydrant. Nearly 500 customers affected. I’ll have an update on when power and water will be fully restored shortly,” FOX LA reporter Leah Uko tweeted.

The incident took place at 12000 block of Rives Avenue, just south of Firestone Boulevard. According to the witnesses, the SUV was gobbled up completely by the sinkhole.

“I came out here like 3 a.m. and you could see the car sinking. It was even getting [worser.] You could only see one window the top window,” a resident said.

The street faced severe water and electricity problems Sunday.

“It was difficult because today is Father’s Day and we couldn’t cook. We couldn’t do a lot of stuff. We use a lot of camping supplies to start cooking for Father’s Day,” a resident said.

Ed Rodriguez, another resident said, “It just looked really, really surreal. Ground level and you just saw was the hood of the car, the top of the car and then that was it. ... We have a swimming pool so we are able to use that water for — essential things.”

However, power was restored Sunday evening.

“All power has been restored in Downey neighborhood on Rives Avenue where SUV crashed into a power pole and fire hydrant. Crew still working on sinkhole,” Uko tweeted.

Police confirmed the driver of the SUV was not drunk and hit the fire hydrant when she tried avoiding a car coming toward her. The current condition of the woman has not been revealed.

In July 2017, a sinkhole that apparently began beneath a boat, which fell into a widening depression, swallowed two houses in Florida.

Though no injuries were reported, officials then said the neighborhood might take months or weeks to recover completely.

Kevin Guthrie, Pasco County's assistant administrator for public safety said the sinkhole, estimated to be 225 feet in diameter and 50 feet deep, was full of water and not draining because of debris, CNN reported.

“There are a lot of contaminants in this water. It will allow us to decontaminate the area ... and clear the debris out,” he said.

In another incident, a sinkhole swallowed a car in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, in June 2017.

An eight-inch water main had been broken for some time because there was so much erosion, Greg Prater, a city street and traffic inspector said. However, it wasn’t clear if the main was broken before the street collapsed.

"By the time we got out, people were already standing around the hole," the owner of the car said, CBS-affiliated KMOV reported.